that’s been me the last five days. i got sick saturday and just went down hill to the point where i actually missed two days of work. i’m feeling a lot better today, though i still have this horrible cough that sounds like i’m dying. however it makes things difficult when i suddenly have to drop everything (literally) and double over coughing for several minutes.

i have 5 pieces of pierrot left to actually start molding, and two pieces left to finish molding – so i’m getting really close!

then comes the moment of truth when i do a full cast of her and string her. it will be the first time in a long time that i’ll have strung a full pierrot! i’m really hoping it works!

in the meantime, i keep myself motivated with lots of cartoons. though i may switch to sherlock holmes again as i haven’t had a good holmes marathon in awhile…..

my roommate has to put up with quite a bit from me – my extreme obsession with sherlock holmes (the original character thank you very much), my transgender lifestyle which is slowly but surely turning me into a bit of a tintin lookalike, and the cravings for spongebob and first 48 just to name a few….

but she is extremely awesome (such as helping me get out of depressed funks or finding the last stupid clue bottle in sly cooper… ) and a couple months ago i had asked her for some help with my doll making. i knew i could reuse old molds if they were cut up small enough (and it would help spread materials and costs out) and so i asked if she would mind helping me out when she was bored/had nothing to do – but i was thinking she would just do a couple small pieces for me…

what she did is for several hours sat there cutting up old/failed molds until she had filled up this huge box with tiny silicone chunks. i was in shock and complete amazement, and thanked her multiple times. it was unbelievable – not only that she spent so long doing it and only stopped because she ran out of room to put the cut pieces, but because silicone is extremely hard to cut (it’s springy and squishes) and can become very tiring/painful on your hands. she makes her living as a dog groomer, so she needs her hands to be in tip top shape and to sacrifice them like that was very kind.

the reason i bring this up now is because as i pour the molds for pierrot – it is just so wonderful to have this box of silicone chunks i can grab and use as filler in the molds – it’s saving me a lot of time and materials. i can easily double the molds poured with the addition of the older molds.

of course, i do have to be careful not to use pieces with bits of clay or resin stuck in them – but that’s no big deal.

now if only i could get the stupid bottle part A of the resin to open…. somehow the lid got stuck and neither of us have been able to get it open – and thing is like 3/4 full!

but enough with the ranting – i’m spending my day watching mindless tv and working on my dolls – and with any luck i’ll be able to get some pictures tuesday of what i’ve gotten done so far. i’m hoping i can pour a second batch of molds tonight so i want to focus on the sculpting rather than the photography today.

but when i look at other people who sculpt dolls and they have a finished one ready to cast – they’re so smooth and perfect…. i get so jealous! i look at my girl and can only see all the problems that need tweaking – though i’m getting better at it!

i’ve *hopefully* finished half of her molds and will be getting the other half started in the next day or two.

i’m working on kirin/hollow as well, and am going to work my way through the box of doll parts and finish dolls before i get started on any more new ones…. i think after pierrot is done, i’m going to pull out pip and get her full finished – she’s just missing her arms/hands really – oh, and a headcap i think…. but i think she’ll be super cute in resin when she’s all done, and she’s at 90% right now as it is.

after that it’s finishing up kirin/hollow, then my big dolls. once i have pip and kirin done, i may pull out some of the heads for pierrot to work on as well (such as finishing up xolotl and the others)

somedays, i think when i’m doing so well i get scared and it stops my progress – like i can’t believe i can actually have a finished doll. it’s horrible, but i’ve hit a point in my life where my dolls and my artwork are what are most important, and i seriously want to have my own house so i can have my own workspace to do my art.

i’ve actually found some house plans that i fell head over heels in love with, and if i do the finishing steps i could have it built for like 250,000$ (based on if i settle down in portland oregon) – i think that’s a decent price for a 3 bedroom, 2200+ sq foot house…..

so now i’m saving up for doll creating supplies and scrimping pennies to save up for the house plans….

and perhaps…. i went a bit overboard with the picture taking…. but it’s the only way to learn, you know? and these are by no means the best in the world, but they’re better than a lot of pictures i’ve posted in the past….

sadly – it forced me to admit that saru’s nose is…. perhaps the ugliest thing in the world. i’ve been so focused on her eyes and mouth and cheeks and chin and… well, everything else, that i’ve left her nose fall behind – and it’s painfully obvious in these pictures.

so this weekend – she’s getting a new nose! no more delays!

but dang – i am loving her body! i’ve started her legs and arms and one hand – but they’re just bare sticks right now. and i do mean sticks….

and here are some of xeno – this head is coming along slowly because ron (our youngest cat) keeps breaking it….

and some of kirin/hollow – what do i call her now?

and a couple of pierrot – yes…. i’m STILL reworking her… but as i learn new tricks/techniques with other sculpts, i want to go back and refine her…..

i got my lightbox put together and tested it – only to find out the light i have for my lamp is very….. yellow. however, the pictures did turn out a hundred times better than before!

so i plan on picking up a natural light lightbulb (redundant, eh? ) and then this weekend i plan on taking pictures of my current progress!

i’ve been working in spurts on my dolls – and i finished my taxes to find out i’m getting a refund – and it will be enough to get the molding stuff i need to finish the molds on pierrot and will finally have a finished doll in resin! i also got my hands on some 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper to help smooth things out in the finishing stages – my dolls will have seam lines from the the way i molded them, so i anticipated needing to have to sand at least the seam lines, and it’s really not that much work to give the entire body one last good sanding.

i know i’m waaaaaay over due considering my deadline to have a fully cast doll was end of october, but i’m still on pins and needles! the legos are really helping making nice neat molds, and i think it’s going to be great!

i currently have s-hooks from soom, but not sure where else i can order them in bulk in the right sizes. dollmore is a great place for elastic – they have it in a large range of sizes and for great prices. the only draw back – i love so many of their dolls it’s hard to not order one along with the supplies i need! which is probably why i need to find a new supplier for elastic too……

i mean, with the s-hooks, i can always do what a lot of the japanese artists do and make my own, but i can’t exactly make my own elastic.

and in some completely unrelated news – i’m working on some ideas to combine my love of drawing and my love of bjds and planning on figuring out a way to do…. well, a 3D drawing of sorts – where the person in the picture is partially sculpted off the canvas, and possibly with jointed parts.

i've been drawing for as long as i could hold a pencil and art became my first language. though i've only been sculpting since 2007, i fell in love with the idea of being able to bring my drawings to life.
i am heavily inspired by medieval macabre artwork, japanese yokai, and oddly enough, sherlock holmes.
currently i'm living just south of beautiful portland oregon ^^